God of War Ragnarok – Best Skills To Unlock Early With The Leviathan Axe

God of War Ragnarok lets you grasp the Leviathan Axe from the beginning of the game, giving you plenty of options to power up and upgrade this mighty weapon. You will get access to the Axe Skill Tree, where you can unlock new moves and abilities to be used during combat. The Leviathan Axe Skills are divided into Technique, Ranged, and Melee, allowing Kratos to specialize in each macro area.

To unlock new Skills in God of Ragnarok, you must obtain XP during combat and upon getting quests done. Looking at the Goals tab in the menu, you can see which rewards are tied to each mission you still need to complete and how much XP you will get.

The cost of each Skill is listed in the specific menu, and it increases with more powerful abilities that can be unlocked later in the game. In the meantime, this guide will show you the best skills to redeem early for the Leviathan Axe in God of War Ragnarok.

Extinguish Flames

The Leviathan Axe is a great weapon that can deal Frost elemental damage against enemies. This effect can be powered up by holding the Triangle button until the Axe actually frosts so that the next melee or ranged attack will be more effective. With Extinguish Flames, every melee attack with the Axe deals bonus damage against Burning enemies. This will prove very useful during your journey, as you can fight against these foes more effectively and have fewer chances of perishing at higher difficulties.

Vengeful Sickle I

This Skill is a great pick if you prefer to start the fight by attacking enemies from a distance. Upon unlocking Vengeful Sickle I, you need to aim and hold R1 to charge up the Leviathan Axe and then throw it at a foe. The weapon will spin and slice, landing multiple hits toward that enemy. This ability can be used against more powerful opponents to weaken them before going melee for the best results.

Glacial Rake

When you fight against a large group of enemies, Glacial Rake can help you more than you imagine. This Skill, which can be activated by holding R1, lets you drag the Axe through the ground and throw ice shards forward, striking any nearby foe with high Frost. Suppose two or more of your enemies are just in front of you. In this case, you have an excellent opportunity to deal additional elemental damage to them; if they are Burning, the effect will be even more significant.

Serpent’s Snare

This Skill can be unlocked as soon as you power up your Leviathan Axe to reach level 2.  Serpent’s Snare lets you perform a brutal attack by holding R2. The enemy will be thrown up in the air and will receive massive damage. Moreover, weaker opponents hit by Serpent’s Snare create an explosion of Frost upon impact, which deals damage and also impacts nearby foes. You will probably use this ability a lot during your journey through the Nine Realms, so you should target it as the first level 2 Skill to get for your Leviathan Axe.

We will analyze the best starting skills for the Blades of Chaos in a separate guide, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, you can read our tips and tricks for God of War Ragnarok.